I was actually trying to watch "Grease" (which I'd never seen), gave up to go to this film version of one of the great Guy de Maupassant's greatest short stories. No regrets. The main theme of the original story is the rank hypocrisy of various bourgeois and two nuns when their fortunes depend on a good-hearted prostitute they have all treated with contempt. This version covers that angle but, even before getting to the added-on adaptation of "Mademoiselle Fifi" adds in some other touches, notably a lone male who probably for post-war French suggested a maquisard hero. Here, he also serves as a bit of a Greek chorus in his regard of the despicable behavior of the townsfolk. Knowing this was made just after the war, one might think the hideous portrayal of the Prussians was a disguised take on the Nazis, and it may have been, but de Maupassant's portrayal of the Prussians was close to what one sees here. Micheline Presles (who apparently is still acting) is magnetic here. It is also fun to see the nuns portrayed here in a far more positive light than in the original. For those who know the original story, it might have been interesting to see how a director would show Boule de Suif's reaction at the end of the story, but the shift the story takes here is actually pretty gratifying. The core social commentary survives, but is extended here to a richer story.
Review of Angel and Sinner
